Ok, so, this will be random stories. Whatever hits me. Whatever I feel like writing. It'll be SO MUCH FUN! And I'm back on my feet, so I'll start working on/make improvements on my other stories that I've overlooked.
And yeahhh, I don't own Degrassi or CVS, yadda yadda yadda… K, ENJOY, PLEASE
The sign for CVS pharmacy had never been so torturous to Jenna. Sure, they always managed to make the hairs on her arms stand up and she had stepped inside of one since the age twelve in fear of what she might find. It was silly, she knew. Her mother was an employee at this CVS and this CVS only. Why be afraid of the whole chain?
Tylar's hand reached up to hers but it didn't grap it, just let his chubby fingers linger over hers. Then he brought his grip to the hem of her black, mid-thigh dress. "Are you going into the errand?" he asked his mother.
Jenna smiled down at him, thinking how adorable it was that he imagined an errand to be a place, as opposed to a chore you run. "Yes, go on ahead," she answered, patting his back as he strolled up to the automatic doors. His palms cupped his round face in amusement when the magical doors opened themselves just for him.
Jenna went up to where he stood, still slightly mesmerized at the fantastic display of technology that was often overlooked by regular by-passers.
She took his hand and led him to an aisle full of toys and trinkets. "You pick something out. I'll be by those doors, so you can still see me. Only one toy, Tylar, okay?"
Tylar nodded his head and fled to the blendy markers and plastic dinosaurs.
She knew that walking away from a twenty-six month old in the middle of a pharmacy aisle was stupid and immature—especially in a foreign country. But she believed that he wasn't the baby that met the eye.
He was astonishingly mature and understanding for a child so young. He seems to read people and know what reaction they were wanting—whether it is silence, hand-holding, or just a cute 2-year-old response.
Most people wouldn't, couldn't get passed his eyes.
They peer at you as if they're not seeing you but you; a you that you try to hide but he still know it's there.
It left Jenna starstruck that he could do this to any person off the street, in almost any scenario. Even his father KC, someone who even Jenna could never comprehend fully, was an open book to their son's eyes.
She clanked one heel down after another until she found the stash she was looking for: cigarettes.
No one knew she still did this.
Not Kyle. Not KC. Not Mrs. Guthrie.
Not Tylar.
They all thought she had quit for good. And for some reason, she wouldn't describe her slight addiction as "unhealthy." She never did it around Tylar, not even if he was in the same house. She'd never risk harming her son in such a way.
But she found herself breathing easier and relaxing her unbelievably tense shoulders after a quick smoke.
Out of the corner, Jenna saw her. She stood out, just like Jenna did, with her incredibly blonde hair and wide smile that lay plastered on her face. She stood behind the check-out counter, her long, shimmering fingernails holding a pack of toilet-paper under the ticket pricer. She opened her glossed lips to tell the customer their price with a bored expression on her face.
"Mommy!" Tylarcalled, and Jenna turned to see him running towards her as she hurriedly put the pack of cigarettes back on its respectful shelf. In his hand he clasped a red and black racecar. He was holding it as if it was flying on an invisible track in the air.
"Do you like your toy?" she asked as she scooped him off the floor.
"Yes, mommy," answered Tylar, fumbling with the front wheels of the car.
"Well, let's go buy it then," said Jenna and her son's gleeful expression made her chuckle.
As she headed to the check-out line, she looked down at the small child in her arms and began to feel bad. It seemed as if she was using her son as a pawn to finally reunite with the mother she's needed for so long, but now especially through her pregnancy and new motherhood.
Now that she has a son, Jenna hoped that her mother wouldn't run away, scared and stressed, like she was before.
When Jenna neared the counter, she gently set Tylar down on it and began to search in her purse for a ten-dollar bill to cover the plastic toy, purposely shielding her face with her hair.
"Aren't you a cute little thing?"
Jenna could've cried; the voice was so familiar. It reminded her of home, before home dissolved, until she was attempting to raise a stable home on her own.
Jenna sneaked a glance at Tylar, with his two fingers shoved into his mouth as his unknowing grandmother tickled his side and his saliva formed bubbles at the corners of his mouth from his giggle fest.
Jenna smiled and placed the bill on the countertop. She gradually lifted her head, rolling her shoulders back into straight posture, daring to look Patricia Conwell square in the face.
"Will that be all?" the cashier asked, grabbing the toy car before glancing at Jenna for a response. Her blue eyes dug into Jenna's, but no realization struck them. Instead, she was just merely asking a usual buyer if they wanted to make further purchase.
"Um…" hesitated Jenna. She knotted her fingers together. She had imagined this very moment she was since middle school. Seeing her mom, having her care for her, talking about womanly business that would make her dad and brothers cringe if she brought it up in the house. She wanted to be able to have words of comfort and wisdom on the other line of the call in difficult times, where even her best friends were turning their backs on her.
But now…
Jenna saw her mom, but not as her mom. She was a lady, with a glistening stray-tan and plastic nails, making minimum wage at a pharmacy. She saw the woman that couldn't handle being a part of the family she started.
She saw the woman that never loved her child enough to stay with her, and watch her grow. Why would she make an exception and become a grandmother? And more importantly, why would Jenna want that around the child she was trying to raise? No son of Jenna Middleton will grow up to be a quitter and abandon his loved ones.
She was going to bring him up, showing him constantly how much she loves him. He will FEEL his mother's love, in any possible case. His family certainly wasn't perfect. But that was no excuse to just back out of this commitment.
And even when days are gray and she and KC are arguing, she will find the will-power to stay together, through the love she is overwhelmed with for her son.
"Yes. That will be all. Thank you."
And with that, Jenna set Tylar on the ground and held his hand all the way to the car.